GUMSHOE

GUMSHOE is a system for designing and playing investigative roleplaying games and adventures, emulating stories where investigators uncover a series of clues, and interpret them to solve a mystery.

In a GUMSHOE game, the player characters discover something which triggers their investigation, and then the Game Moderator (GM) narrates them through a number of scenes, during which they use their Investigative Abilities to gather the core clues they need to move the narrative forward. They must then put the clues together to uncover the secrets behind the mystery.

GUMSHOE One-2-One

This is a new iteration of GUMSHOE, designed for one player, and one GM. You can find out more about it here.

GUMSHOE links and resources

• A summary of the GUMSHOE system rules
• What’s Your GUMSHOE Size? – How to choose the GUMSHOE game that best suits you
• Why GUMSHOE? Robin D. Laws explains to Stargazer’s World what the GUMSHOE system does, and why
• GUMSHOE 101 for players – A one-page cheat sheet for new players, by Kevin Kulp
• GUMSHOE 101 for GMs – A one-page cheat sheet on how to run GUMSHOE, for new GMs, by Kevin Kulp
• GUMSHOE 102 for GMs – A two-pager on how to design adventures (specifically for Night’s Black Agents, but also useful for GUMSHOE), by Kevin Kulp
• The GUMSHOE System Reference Document – The nuts and bolts of the system, for professional game designers who want to create their own GUMSHOE settings
• The Pelgrane Press Community Use Policy – The official policy for fan-created works
• All articles about GUMSHOE

Our GUMSHOE games

Any RPG which uses the GUMSHOE system redefines it for that setting, and so there is no “GUMSHOE book”. Each of the RPGs below contains the full GUMSHOE rules for creating characters and playing in that world, as well as guidance on designing your own investigations for that particular setting.

Follow the links below to find out about our GUMSHOE games:

• Ashen Stars
• The Esoterrorists
• The Fall of DELTA GREEN
• Fear Itself
• The Gaean Reach
• Lorefinder
• Mutant City Blues
• Night’s Black Agents
• Swords of the Serpentine
• TimeWatch
• Trail of Cthulhu
• The Yellow King

GUMSHOE short settings

• Moon Dust Men, Galileo Uplift and Majestic Overwatch
• School of Night
• Tomb-Hounds of Egypt

Third-party GUMSHOE games

• Bubblegumshoe – Intrepid teen sleuths solving mysteries in a modern American small town
• Casting the Runes – Set in the Edwardian era, players are occult investigators, exploring the supernatural and uncovering arcane and esoteric mysteries
• Harlem Unbound – Face terrifying horrors from the Lovecraftian Mythos in the exciting world of the Harlem Renaissance at its height
• Monster Squad Control – Play Control Room Administrators for Monster Squad, an Internet based startup that kills monsters in this two-page game
• Shanty Hunters – It’s 1880. You travel the seas to document the dying art of the sea shanty, overcoming dangers from malign spirits who manifest the imagery and events from each song to oppose you.
• The Terror Beneath – An investigative roleplaying game of horrors both ancient and modern, inspired by the works of Arthur Machen.

GUMSHOE zooms 

Short supplements focused on a key game mechanic or subject, and its possible applications to any GUMSHOE game

• Alchemy
• Goëtia
• Martial Arts
• Mind Control
• Voodoo 1 – Magic
• Voodoo 2 – The Invisibles